The Queen And The Soldier
by Sleflar
Summary: Isabelle McTavish is back at Hogwarts, much to her incredible disdain. The events of last year still heavy on her heart, she is forced into the madness that seems to inhabit the school every year, but she would sooner soldier through a hundred years of chaos than have to look into those selfish and cold blue eyes ever again.
1. Some Request

Chapter 1: Some Request

The pale green curtains were open in her room, the last remnants of the setting sun spilled over the sill and into the room. The girl was laying on the floor close to the window as she soaked up the sun whilst reading one of the many books that were kept on the shelf. She curled her toes in the emerald carpet, the request to make it as long as possible was a good one. It was somewhat like shag.

The fire cracked languidly on the hearth as it was beginning to fade, like the sun devouring the last bits of matter it had been able to find. Atop swung a brass cauldron and inside that was her most recent project, bare bones for a sleeping draught. The sun continued to creep along the floor and quickly down the page of her book. That was probably the worst part about the Isle of Skye; summer was short and fleeting and towards the end, when the days were as hot as the nights cold the thunderstorms began to brew.

The faded parchment was getting hard to read. She flipped over and ran her hands along the carpet in search of her wand which she then pointed to one of her lamps and it roared to life, well, as much as a lamp could roar.

Her heart wasn't really in it anymore as she skimmed the book; it was another potions tome, old one. Her grandmother had sent it to her as a seventeenth birthday gift months ago, apparently the woman knew more about her than she thought. She sighed, rolled over and took a look at her book shelf. "I've really got to consider going to the Ministry to take my N.E.W.T Tests."

She sighed again and put her hands behind her head, wand included. Her roof was stone, but covered in posters of bands, Quiddich team's etcetera; everything that a young witch would have in their room. The wall even sported a house banner, a reminder of her brief stint at Hogwarts. The great snake taunted her, its red eyes watching her from the corner of her room. Sometimes she thought about burning it and saying that a spell had gone awry, but that would just prompt them to buy her more Slytherin memorabilia.

She heard something from downstairs, but it was drowned out by a pop from the fire. "Isabelle dear, come down stairs, there's an owl here for you. It's from Hogwarts." Her mother had called in a thick Scottish accent.

It took her a moment to respond she wasn't really listening, her mother had to call again. Why did Hogwarts want her, she sent a formal letter into the school saying she wouldn't be attending this year and that she would be taking her N.E.W.T's at the Ministry

"Coming Mum!" She called back as she drew her wand, it was a beautiful Yew piece, stained black aside from where the Celtic knots had been carved. She tapped her book and it whizzed back into its place on her shelf. Being tidy is easy when magic does it for you.

Skidding out of her room and around the corner, she ran down the spiral staircase that acted as the only entrance and exit to her tower which acted as a bedroom. Really, she had an entire floor to herself and she loved it. Here, she could read in her little library, relax in her room, try on clothes in one of her multiple wardrobes, as well as brew potion after potion at her crafts table, which was frequently restocked with everything a young potion's student's heart could possibly desire.

When she finally reached the floor that her mother was on, the main floor, she was slightly annoyed she had to leave her book to hear about a school she had absolutely no intention of returning to. Her mother however was beaming.

Bunches of curly red hair which Isabelle so envied framed her beautiful heart shaped face and bringing out the striking green eyes they shared. "Mum!" Isabelle laughed when she saw her, "What's all this about Hogwarts? You and Da' both know I don't want to go back there." Isabelle said, putting on her best puppy dog face. "You promised I would only have to go there for one semester while you and Da' where on holiday!"

Her mother looked at her sympathetically

"I know Love, we did give our word."

Isabelle sighed with relief. "Right then, can you send it back? Tell them they made a mistake and I won't be coming back this year?"

Her mother shook her head, causing the curls about them to dance merrily. Her mother extended her arm with the envelope in it.

"No, I'm afraid you're going to have to go back. Here read."

Isabelle took the letter from her mother. It was stamped with a dark green heavily scented wax, each and every word adding more dislike to the new Headmaster, Severus Snape.

_By Order of Headmaster Snape and the Ministry of Magic. All magically gifted youths between the ages of Eleven to Eighteen shall henceforth be required to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at the start of the new term. A list of required school supplies has been included with this letter. You must arrive via Hogwarts express and be sorted into a house. Failure to do so will result in penalty._

_Regards,_

_Headmaster Severus Snape_

"Some request." Mused Isabelle. "More like an order to me."

Her mother raised her brow.

"Not that I'm speaking out against my future Headmaster. It just seems exceptionally forceful for a school sanctioned letter." Rolling her shoulders slightly to relax she continued her train of thought in a new and more desirable direction, "Either way! I suppose I'll be packing my things again."

She tried to smile at her mother, who beamed back at her "There's the spirit Love! Look on the bright side."

"Which is?"

"You get to go see Draco! You two hardly see each other anymore. It's simply horrible. You two were so close when you were children."

Whatever semblance of a smile Isabelle's face had been able to muster up vanished at his name. "Right… Mum, can you ask Lottie to come up to my room; I need her help packing for school."

"Of course Isabelle, and do try not to look so glum. And for goodness sake, call her Charlotte, she's a squib and a servant, not a friend."

Isabelle forced another smile; something she had become increasingly good at over the years. She turned on her heel to go back to her room and managed to reach it just in time to collapse onto her bed and erupt into tears of frustration.

Draco Malfoy was the last person she ever wanted to see again.


	2. Snakebites

**Chapter 2: Snakebites**

September grew closer with every passing day, and as it did her night terrors increased. Tomorrow she would be carted off to Diagon Alley to purchase a few of the required supplies that she didn't already have. Her mother and father filled her head with promises of gifts and spoils to try to lift the spirits of their depressed daughter.

Not that she cared. Not that it would do anything to help.

Isabelle hated the fact that she needed to go back to Hogwarts. She couldn't bear to see him again. _But he wasn't him anymore_. She had to remember that… But then again, didn't that only make reality more heartbreaking?

She rolled over and looked at her clock, a perfect replica of the night sky with numerals imprinted on a silver border. 4am already? Why even bother trying to sleep? All she dreamt of was loss, blackness, and pain. She only remembered snatches of her last dream, a particularly horrifying one.

_In it, she sat chained to a plush sofa, whilst her mother brushed her hair and fitted her earrings in place. She set a wide brimmed witches hat upon her head. All the while, Bellatrix Lestrange, Lucious and Narcissa Malfoy pulled Draco away into a horrific empty blackness. He would scream her name, his tortured blue eyes staring pleadingly, as his raw, bleeding fingers were desperately trying to grip the cold flagstone floor. She was powerless to help him as she pulled and wrenched on the chains that had now turned into vicious silver snakes. She screamed his name, No sound came out._

_"Isabelle dear" her mother scolded her, apparently unbeknownst to everything going on in front of them._

_"Stop. Fidgeting."_

_Isabelle screamed silently until her throat was raw, a bitter, dying expression on her face as the Snakes dug their massive, crooked, fangs into her forearms._

Trembling horribly at the memory of the dream, Isabelle rubbed her forearms where the snake's fangs had ripped clean through. She shuddered again, Diagon Alley as well as Kings Cross would be packed, maybe she could lose him in a crowd and find someone, anyone else to sit and relax with, maybe eat some chocolate frogs, share a hot chocolate.

The wistful attitude turned bitter as she settled upon the fact that she'd sooner spend some one on one time with Pansy Parkinson than spend a say window shopping with Draco Malfoy. Maybe she'd run into someone new, someone who hadn't been to Hogwarts yet? Wouldn't that be lovely- not meeting someone new, never having gone to Hogwarts.

Isabelle didn't want to be awake anymore; but she didn't want to sleep lest she would have nightmare after nightmare. She didn't want to think about anything anymore, especially what was going to happen at 9:00 tomorrow morning.

"Lumos." She grumbled and rubbed the lack of sleep from her eyes. The tip of her wand illuminated and she flicked the ball of intense light away from her, it danced hurriedly across the room and came to a complete stop above her large wooden desk. She lumbered out of bed and willed herself towards her desk which housed a small box of her most useful, most prized potions.

She padded back to her bed and sat down on her black duvet as she pulled the stopper out of the potion and embraced the rich fragrance it contained, it smelled of lavender, honey and morning dew. Downing half the potion, Isabelle hardly had enough time to stopper it and mumble "Nox." Before she got what she wanted; half the effect. She got five hours of sleep, but in return, she was plagued by more hellish nightmares.

"McTavish?" an all too familiar voice spoke, "Isabelle wake up. You've overslept."

Isabelle whimpered in her sleep and mumbled something along the lines of 'Run, Draco, run. Run away Draco.'

"Iz?" A trembling hand shook her shoulder "For Christ's sake, come on! How strong do you brew these things?" The hand shook her again, "Come on McTavish, get up."

Isabelle groaned and rolled onto her side sneaking a peek at her clock through sleep laden eyes;_ eleven o' seven._ Her eyes refocused after a night of terrible sleep. She rolled over to nuzzle her pillow and look at whoever dared wake her up. He cleared his throat and in response she opened her eyes to finally see who it was.

He cleared his throat and in response she opened her eyes to finally see who it was.

Draco Malfoy.

Draco Malfoy looking worse than he did in her nightmare, like he had been dying from the inside out since the last time she had seen him.

Draco Malfoy with the most pleading and worried expression she had ever seen him wear.

"No more!" Isabelle wailed and dove under her mountain of thrashed bedding. "Get out of my head!" She cried into her pillow, her small body shaking. "No more nightmares…" choked a worn and exhausted Isabelle

"Isabelle." He said softly as he leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows on her bed, "You're awake and you've got to get up." He pulled back her protective blanket shield and ran his fingers through her blonde hair.

She knew it wasn't a dream now.

She could smell his fancy French cologne and feel the warmth from his touch. She wanted so desperately to cry and tell him every nightmare she had dreamt. For him to reassure her that nothing was wrong and everything had just been a bad dream. She wanted her Draco.

_But he's not yours._ A particularly nasty voice said from the back of her mind. She looked at him though her hair and he was lying on his side, propped up by one of his elbows, eyes sunken in, skin yellow and ashen. He looked worn and weathered, like overused parchment.

Oh how she wished it was all another nightmare.

"Get out."

"What?" Draco stammered

"Don't touch me."

"Isabelle! What's wrong?"

"Get out of my _bed_. Get out of my _room_!" Get out of my _life!_ She wanted to add as well, but he was already retreating. Within a second he was out the door and heading down the staircase to tell everyone she was awake.

Isabelle half ran half tumbled to her en-suite bathroom, where she collapsed onto the cold marble floor and proceeded to heave up whatever small amount of food she had forced herself to eat the night before. She laid there for a moment; the cold stone making its way through her thin bed clothes and soothing her frazzled nerves.

Still on the ground, she reached up and her frail white hand griped the small drawer for more potions, because the last one had done so much good. She chugged the foul tasting brew and grimaced; anything that woke you up tasted about as awful as it made you feel good.

While waiting for it to take effect; she brushed her teeth to remove the taste of vomit, sleep and potion, and washed her pale face. When she noted the large bags under her bright green eyes were not left-over makeup but in fact reminders of her short and violent sleep, she shuddered and grabbed a small pot of makeup to rub it into her alabaster skin evening the tone and covering any imperfections. She rummaged through a drawer dedicated only to various shades of lipsticks and grabbed her favorite shade of red, as well as mascara, eyeliner shadow and everything that would imply.

She liberally applied the eyeliner and shadow to create sort of a cat eyed, smoky effect. When she was finished she had a look to her that was slightly Noir. She grabbed a few staple items from one of her wardrobes.

A fashionable black corset with green trim and small amounts of black lace, as well as a skirt with cascading layers of black chiffon, over top she wore a long black riding cloak with her signature wide hood and silver snake drawstring that closed at the hollow of her neck by one snake biting its tail. She slipped on a rather comfortable pair of black pumps elevating her from five foot seven to five foot ten.

Isabelle was rummaging around in her jewelry box when her hand landed on a small gold, heart shaped locket with a vine imprint on the front. It was perfectly ordinary, nothing unusual about it, the only mark was the vine imprint that graced the front, but Isabelle retracted her hand from the necklace like it was a smoldering coal and slammed the lid of the box down. No jewelry today. Her rings and ear cuff were good enough.

Walking out of the closet, she sighed and ran her fingers through her hair only to notice that it was riddled with knots from violently tossing and turning, everywhere except where Draco had ran his fingers through it. She stopped in front of her mirror and used her wand to untangle her curly honey blonde hair, which cascaded over her shoulders and down her back to her slim waist.

She grabbing her pouch and slipping it and her wand inside her cloak pocket, she made her way downstairs not bothering to charm her shoes to be as silent as she usually did, so they heard her come romping down the stairs. Her parents smiled when they saw her.

"Oh good!" Her mother exclaimed "You're awake and ready to go!"

"Draco said you were having some kind of fit in your sleep, ripping sheets, tossing and turning. Any recollection of what it was about Iz?" her father said lethargically.

Glancing at Draco as well as the various trunks that were behind him, she just shrugged and said no.

Isabelle's mum rushed Draco into the chimney with a handful of floo powder, "Shouldn't waste any time! It's almost noon!"

Draco stepped into the fireplace and turned to face them as he looked at Isabelle in a rather confused manner and very clearly said "Diagon Alley."

Isabelle was next and she sighed as she walked into the fireplace as well, all she could smell was that French cologne she loved oh-so-much, as it seemed to have permeated the small space that was her hearth. She drew in a large breath and said, just as clearly as he had,

"Diagon Alley!"


	3. Diagon Alley

_**Author's Note: **_**This fanfiction is being written in correspondence with another, about a boy from a very muggle sympathetic family who is sent to Hogwarts after years of homeschooling and living in mostly muggle environment. He and Isabelle briefly meet in this chapter and I think you should check out Gabriel's side of the story! The author is a dear friend of mine, and I think that if you like anything i've written, you'll like his work just as much, the story is called **

**'Fire in His Grey Eyes' by Goggles11**

** s/8262426/1/Fire_in_His_Grey_Eyes **

Chapter Three: Diagon Alley

Isabelle was horribly unstable when she arrived at Diagon Alley but a thin arm clad in a black suit jacket was there to steady her when she arrived. "You're always out of sorts when you use Floo powder, especially when you don't charm your shoes." He mused. Isabelle was in no mood for polite jabs at any of her faults.

"Shut up."

"What's wrong with you?"

"Don't talk to me."

"Izzy."

"I don't know you. Leave me the hell alone."

"Izzy..." Draco said looking taken back, "It's me, Draco."

"My name. Is Isabelle, not McTavish, not Iz, or Izzy. And no, you're not Draco, you're just some person who looks like him. Now you leave me alone while I shop and you can go do whatever the hell you have to do." She snarled while storming away from him, drawing her wand to charm her shoes into silence and grace.

People, children and adults alike parted for Isabelle as she stormed down the street, her pretty face held such a murderous expression that even you-know-who himself would have thought twice about messing with her.

She noticed that the streets were littered with terrified children and their parents who stuck together in large clusters. The area infront of the burnt out shell of Olivander's Wand shop was devoid of people except for the occasional sketchy looking person, more likely than not newly recruited Death Eaters.

She saw a group of Hogwarts students that she could identify from last year, thankfully not Pansy Parkinson and her crowd, but next to worse for her appearances; a cluster of mostly Gryffindor's. There was only two whose names she could recall, because they had been in The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade when her and Draco had had a vicious fallout and she had wiped the ground with him in a duel. The short Irishman, Seamus Finnigan had gotten quite a few laughs from that. Quite frankly Isabelle had been too tired of being treated like she was one of Draco's stupid cronies to find anything funny until after she had sent Draco running home with his tail between his legs and had consumed sufficient amounts of alcohol.

Isabelle smiled at them slightly and raised an arm to gesture a slight wave, Finnigan nodded back while the girl beside him who she was almost positive was named Lavender, who was looking around and being too much of a ditz to notice anything that wasn't male.

Finnigan did not wave back, because he could see Malfoy trotting up behind McTavish with an outstretched arm.

The pale hand landed on her shoulder. "Isabelle for fucks sake why are you acting so insane? What the hell is your problem?"

She turned to look him in the eyes, she only had to look up a few inches, "You are my problem Draco Malfoy!" She screamed at him not caring who heard, "Leave me a fucking lone and go do whatever bloody buisness you have to do here and don't fucking talk to me, or even come near me until we have to go back to my house where you and I _have _to talk to eachother." Her expression was livid and they stood this way until her chest had stopped heaving, a byproduct her over-exhasperated rage. Her expression changed from furious to tired and she shook her head "Just leave me alone Malfoy."

He looked at her in a more confused manner than she had ever seen him wear, never in the long history of their friendship had she called him by his last name, he was always just Draco to her, no more, no less. Until now. As the realization of how she felt about him now took over his mind the expression on his face turned from confusion to cool indifference. "Fine." Malfoy said, raising his hands, "You didn't have to be so twatty about it. Isabelle. Go hang out with your fucking Gryffindor scum. Everyone'll love that, don't you think?" he said with a nasty tone to his voice. A feeble attempt to blackmail her.

Her head dipped back and she let out peals of laughter, "Yeah Malfoy, the whole wide world fucking loves the crowd you run with too, right? Bugger off before I send you rocketing down the street again." She looked up at him and his cold and empty blue eyes looked back, they looked so impossibly full of hate, not even a hint of sadness, sorrow or regret. This was Malfoy.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Isabelle tapped her foot on the ground and waited for him to turn and leave and sure enough after a good hard stare and the patent Malfoy sneer, he turned on his heel and left her where she stood.

"Shit, McTavish!" She heard Finnigan call in his thick Irish accent "Never thought we'd see you wreck Malfoy like that again! Hell, never thought we'd see you again at all! Thought y'said you had n'intention of comin' back t'Hogwarts. What the hell was that about anyway?"

Isabelle shook her head and looked at him and Lavender, "You guys want to grab a hot chocolate with me or something, I'm famished."

Seamus and Lavender looked at eachother awkwardly.

"I'll buy."

Seamus chuckled and gestured forwards, "Any girl who kicks Malfoy's butt on multiple occasions and offers to buy m'friend and I a hot chocolate s'allright in my books, even if she does happen t'be a Slytherin."

Smiling slightly, she felt the weight of her house heavy on her shoulders now as she fell into step behind Seamus while he lead them towards the nearest source of hot chocolate, her mind too full of recollections of last night's terrors and her loathing of the fact that she had to go back to Hogwarts to really recall the exact location of anything in Diagon Alley.

"So Malfoy's staying at your house?"

She took a sip of her now cooled hot chocolate as she nodded "Yeah, until school starts I think."

Seamus winced a bit "That's rough."

"Yeah." She let out a hollow laugh, "You have no idea. This morning after knocking myself out with an overly strong and possibly improperly brewed sleeping potion, I woke up to Malfoy in my room. He was trying to wake me from my potion enduced stupor." She dipped a piece of cake into her hot chocolate, Isabelle was a sucker for sweets. "Moments after he left my room I proceeded to vomit everything my stomach contained."

Lavender's nose crinkled at the word 'vomit' and she continued to people watch and drink her mug of hot chocolate. She wasn't quite comfortable with Isabelle, or any Slytherin that was close to the Malfoy's. Not that she hated her, she was just harder to win over than Seamus.

"Gross." mumbled Seamus as he too dipped a piece of cake into his hot chocolate, "Little bit of an extreme reaction to finding something slimy in your room in the morning, but then again, you said you didn't sleep right too, and you look like it. Y'look scared and tired McTavish. Night terrors again?"

She nodded. A roumor had been widespread around Hogwarts last year that she had been prone to night terrors, not nessecarily untrue but they had only started frequently enough to be noticable and concerning when she had gone to Hogwarts and had seen how Draco really treated people first hand.

Isabelle looked up to see Malfoy walking by, that look on his face as he strode past, the one that she hated. Where her Draco was trying to look like the Malfoy everyone knew, the one that she saw through in a second. "I have to go." she said hurriedly as she shoved her hand into her pouch and produced a handfull of Galleons which she left on the small circular table they had been sitting at. "See you on the train!" She called quietly and Seamus smiled and then looked at Lavender who looked at him in a rather questioning manner over the brim of her cup.

"What?" he said as she continued to look at him strangely, "She's nice enough."

"She's a Slytherin."

"Oh c'mon Lavender, we start thinkin' like that 'n we're no better then them. 'Sides she bought you hot chocolate and cake and the very sight of Malfoy literally made her vomit. How bad can she be?"

"She's a Slytherin for a reason." she replied in an almost song-like manner.

"Must've been a close call by the sorting hat then."

Seamus shrugged as Lavender looked past him to Isabelle who now shadowed Malfoy. Her hood drawn up around her face and her blonde hair pushed back. "That girl." she said and took another sip, "Is in for a world of hurt this year."

He looked over his shoulder to take note of what she was doing, "Aye." he said, almost feeling sorry for the Slytherin girl. He looked down at the cluster of Galleons on the table, he counted seven and smiled. Seven Galleons was more than triple the bill, either she hadn't been paying attention and was really in that much of a hurry or she was just good a hearted person, but either way, Seamus Finnigan wasn't the sort to pass up another few rounds of hot chocolate and cake. The coin was already jingling in his hand as he stood up and started to walk past her, "'Nother round Lavender?"

As much as Isabelle hated Malfoy at the moment, she feared that Draco was going to need some help one day and she wanted to be there for it besides he was careless enough to do something that might get someone else hurt and with all the new people about it was up to her to babysit him, or so she liked to tell herself.

She continued to shadow an oblivious Malfoy through Diagon Alley, each corner he turned lead them into an area that was more dark, depressing and positively grungy than the last. Finally Isabelle found herself rounding another corner into Nocturn Alley. Malfoy had reached the door of Borgin and Burke's a particularly nasty little shop that proved to be exceptionally Death Eater friendly.

Before he could even look around to see if anyone was following him Isabelle had stepped into a shadowy alcove one where he could not see her but she could see him, she could also see the short blonde boy looking at Draco strangely and questioning his... Parents most likely about, no doubt, what that shop was. She saw the expressions on his parents faces and assumed they were no fools, that was until the boy threw up his arms and stormed towards the store. Isabelle grabbed at her wand instantaneously and appeared out of the alcove. "Shit." She cursed under her breath and strode towards the boy who already had his hand out reaching for the door handle. He barley had the handle in his his grip for a second before she started to run and yell out "Relashio!"

By the time he saw the hooded figure, it had his arm and was hauling him back to his mother and father with one incredibly strong arm, cursing at him and scorning him for his stupidity all the way there. "You stupid bloody idiot." she fumed, "What the hell were you thinking? Going into Borgin and Burke's? You don't look like any Death Eater I've seen, which leads me to conclude that you're just a fucking moron who is incredibly reckless and stupid."

Once she reached his parents, Isabelle drew back her hood and stared them dead in the eye, "Is this yours?" She asked rather annoyed that people could be this stupid and careless with a person. The couple nodded and she released her iron grip on the boy's arm. "Then I suggest you had keep better track of him.

"But I... There was a boy! He was going in there, and that's not a good place to go!"

"No." Isabelle turned to look at him, "It's not. So why the fuck were you going in there after him? You're an infalliably stupid git. Don't risk your ass going after people to save them from Death Eaters shops." She paused for a moment. "Especially when they're Death Eaters themselves." Isabelle sighed as she turned her now very tired looking eyes on those shocked ones the family wore and then focused on the boy again when she said "Don't waste your time and energy running around trying to save a Malfoy." She drew her hood and placed her wand back in her pocket, "Heaven knows I've tried."


	4. Fragile Bird

Chapter 4: Fragile Bird

After Isabelle and Draco had purchased everything that they had needed for school, including Isabelle's spoils which included a brand new broom that was a very slight but nessecary upgrade from the one she had gotten two years ago, they returned to her home via Floo powder. Dinner was on the table within seconds after their arrival and the family sat together, somewhat of a ritual they had. You would be lucky to have been able to cut the tension between her and Draco with a hacksaw. Thankfully all Isabelle was thinking about was if the rest of the new Hogwarts students were going to be as careless with their well-beings as that boy on Knocturn Alley. She shook her head looking dismayed.

"Something wrong, dear?" Her mother asked softly.

"No, nothing really. Just thinking about someone I met today."

"Oh?" Her mother chided.

"Yeah, he's not important, just wondering if the new influx of people to Hogwarts is going to bring even more people like that."

"Oh. Mudblood?" her mother responded as the expression on her face turned into one that a person would wear if they had been presented with a plate full of horned slugs for dinner.

Isabelle shrugged, she wasn't a big fan of mudbloods, she tolerated them, but she knew her parents absolute hatred for them was a big part of what they were. "No, well, maybe. Not sure really. Mostly just stupid." She mused as she cut into her piece of roast beef.

Draco smirked, his hair fell over his blue eyes a bit as he laughed quietly, Isabelle had never had much patience with people she deemed to be stupid nor did she have much sympathy or remorse for them when they were in a rough situation. He looked at her unaware as to if he was permitted to speak to her again but decided now was as good a time as any. "What did he do that was so stupid?"

Isabelle loved these moments, the ones where she had a chance to pull the rug out from under him. "Oh, you didn't see him?" She asked, a little bit taken back, "Silly git was running after you when you wet into Borgin and Burke's today."

"How did you know I went to Borgin and Burke's..." He said quietly, more of a blind statement than a question.

Isabelle laughed and began the usual farce that was her current friendship with him, "We spent practically the entire day together shopping and you decided to slip away, so I followed you to Knocturn Alley wondering why you had left without saying anything." She took another bite of her food, "I'm surprised you didn't see him actually. Short little blonde boy? On the border of Diagon and Knocturn, sitting at a bench with his mother and father? I mean you looked around before you went in the store." She paused and smiled at him in a rather mothering manner. "Might I add you get better at watching who is following you? You're a tad predictable."

Her parents chuckled, "Don't forget how long you two have been friends, Isabelle." her father said with a smile on his face, "Maybe he's not predictable, you just know him too well."

"Perhaps," She said, as she continued her story, "He saw you go in there, asked his parents what is was, got mad at them because I can only assume they said he shouldn't go after you, then he proceeded to throw his hands up in the air and run after you to save you from the peril that is Borgin and Burkes."

"Selflessly running to save someone? A Gryffindor no doubt." Spat her father.

"Probably one of Potter's lot." Draco added, the venom in his voice eminent as well.

"No, I don't think so. I'd never seen him, I think he's new." Isabelle chimed in, but her voice was lost to the Gryffindor, Harry Potter,Mudblood, Idiot bashing that ensued after she had made her first comment about the boy.

Finally her mother looked at her and responded with something that was actually relevent. "A future Gryffindor then, most likely." Her mother added in an equally nasty tone.

She shrugged, "We'll see." she said in a very nonchalant manner. "Anyways, I knocked him back and hauled him to his mother and father, giving every last one of them hell for being so moronic before I left and continued shopping."

"You shouldn't have bothered, Isabelle." Her father said, "Why would you bother trying to help, if it were me I would have watched and laughed than gone into the store and had a little fun." His eyes glittered darkly as he chuckled to himself, Isabelle considered throwing the remainder of her dinner at him.

"Oh, well. You know me. I don't go into shops like that some of the people in there can be real freaks." Isabelle replied, shrugging off her father's creepy statement.

"You seem to have a knack for trying to save people Isabelle, rather uncommon for a Slytherin don't you think?" Draco mused, clearly a weak attempt to pull the rug out from under her feet this time.

"Oh now that's not true. You'd save me wouldn't you?"

"Yeah but I actually give a damn about you. Not to mention you're pretty good at handling yourself anyways."

"Just because I'm a Slytherin doesn't mean I have to be an uncaring coward. Besides who know's maybe that boy will make Slytherin or something."

"Doubtful." they all said at the same time.

"It was a rather big maybe." Isabelle grumbled as she looked at her food and pushed it away, her father's comment had destroyed her appetite, "He was like a little kid, mum." she shot a lrather forlorn look at her mother, "Helpless and ignorant, not to mention small, chock it up to my fierce maternal instincts."

"You are quite protective of young ones, must be genetic." Her mother sighed as she pushed away her food, "Isabelle you have to eat you're wasting away."

"I gorged myself on sweets today, afraid I'm not very hungry."

Her parents shook their heads, her love of sweets was infamous around their house. Thankfully Draco didn't seem to be eating much either for whatever reason, so her story was accepted as truth as she excused herself and walked to her room.

When Isabelle reached her room, she walked over to wall at which her favorite instruments were displayed. Seeing as she was an only child who was homeschooled in a rather remote location, she had taken it upon herself to learn a multitude of instruments each had it's own cubby in the wall, or a case or stand. Her collection varied from cello's to guitars to violins as well as flutes and various other wind instruments including bagpipes not to mention her beautiful grand piano which sat in the center of her collection. All the time she had spend learning instruments, she would sing. She must have put thousands of hours alone into singing for practise, not even counting singing for fun.

Looking out the window as she grabbed her guitar case as well as her flute, she had noticed that as the day went by it had gone from scorching hot to quite chilly and the temperature was dropping rapidly and there was now a storm brewing on the horizon, "Brilliant," she groaned as she lugged the instruments back to her bed, "No sleep, hellish nightmares, Diagon Alley, _Knockturn Alley_ and now a fucking thunderstorm? Just bloody brilliant. Can my day get much worse?!" She cried out to the emptyness that was her room.

Removing the flute from it's case, she cast a charm to make it play along with her guitar and whatever she chose to sing. Music had always been a way of self expression as well as a way for her to relieve stress, sitting on her bed as she removed her beautiful black guitar from it's case Isabelle idly began tuning it. Within moment's she was singing one of the many haunting gaelic songs she usually chose when she couldn't bring herself to sing something light and cheerful.

Draco had spent a bit more time at the table than Isabelle, at least trying to eat his food but it was a lost cause, all he ever felt was nauseated anymore.

"Draco, dear." Mrs. McTavish, said to him a bit worriedly, "You should really eat more... You look terrible." She was right, and he knew it. The clothing he wore was noticably smaller on him and his skin seemed tighter on his angular face, hands and wrists slimmer than usual the expression her wore was one of exhaustion even tired even when he tried his best to look lively and alert. All he wanted to do was go lay down and try not to think about what was going on at his house. He thanked his lucky stars for Isabelle and her family, for him they had always been a haven in the chaos that seemed to encircle his life day after day.

"Sorry Mrs. McTavish, I just don't feel well. One too many sweets I guess." his lie was so blatantly obvious it was almost depressing, but they played along.

"Alright dear, you're excused."

He walked through the well lit corridor to the staircaise that lead up to his room, which was the only room that was used as a bedroom in the general vicinity around Isabelle's. At one time this had been so convenient to them and their friendship but now the walk there was a practical minefield. Isabelle's temper had been terrible latley and she looked half as bad as he did, but she hid it well with makeup and buckets of fake smiles. He wondered if there was anything that really could make her look happy anymore, the way she used to all the time when they were young and carefree, completely unaware of who their parents were and what they themselves were expected to become.

He was so incredibly envious of her. Her parents never pressured her into becoming a full fledged Death Eater. Isabelle knew what they were and what they stood for, but she had been able to bide time, saying she didn't feel comfortable joining until she had finished her schooling and was an adult. Draco didn't have that luxury, not when the Dark Lord himself was squatting in his house.

When he had received his mark she cried, she worried for him horribly because he had never been able to take proper care of himself, at least in her eyes, which lead her to think he was weak, which he was. Death Eaters didn't look out for the weak ones in their group, no one in their lot could care about him the way she always had, aside from perhaps his mother but even she couldn't save him from everything, not alone.

As he walked through the stone walled corridor he thought of his past, never had there been a time that Draco had been in trouble or pain that Isabelle hadn't been there for him, either through letters and gifts if he was at school, or at his side if it was a holiday. The instant she had found out he was marked, and she had pulled herself back together after her onslaught of tears, she had considered becoming a one of them just to take care of him but he had stopped her he had begged and pleaded and explained and much to his surprise she had listened. He wondered if this had been their families plan. He remembered what she said that day;

_I'll have to join too then. I have no choice now._

_No you don't Isabelle._

She had faked another smile as the tears brimmed her eyes again, _I don't have a choice anymore Draco, they've got you._ She was about to turn on her heel and walk down to her parents, no doubt to announce that she too would like to become a Death Eater, when he grabbed her and shoved her up against a wall with enough force to scare her into listening as he spoke.

_Isabelle. You can't. You're too fucking brave to be a Death Eater, you understand me? We're all cowards that go along with what he tells us. You're a smart mouthed, pig-headed and stubborn girl who talks back. You'd get yourself murdered or tortured within an inch of your life within a minute, at the very least a Crucio or two, and honestly, they'd probably make me do it, because that's how fucked up they are. You want to do me a favor? Don't follow me down this path, because I can't keep my sanity if I have to watch you get hurt or turn rotten._

Isabelle hadn't been able to look at him the same since then,and since near the end of the last school year she had hardly been able to stand the thought of him, which in turn caused him to become a worse and worse person. Isabelle had always seen a good heart in him no matter how evil he tried to act, she had always worked herself to exhaustion trying to lure the kindness that hid in his heart back out again. But if she gave up, the last person who would ever hold onto who he was gave up on him, why should he even try anymore?

That was all he told himself now when he would do something evil and he recognized it. _Isabelle gave up on you, she doesn't love you anymore, not even as a friend you're disgusting. Why should you care either._ He sighed and continued the walk up the stairs. His mind returning to reality just in time to hear her siniging hauntingly in gaelic as she played one of her intruments. He wanted to go and listen like he had done when they were young and she was learning every instrument under the sun. She would sing and play and he would watch and admire, he never had much musical talent, he would very infrequently wrote something down that might sound... Nice,at best, but mostly he was just a spectator.

As he wandered through the halls past the short staircause that lead up to her room, he wondered if she might be some freak breed of part siren part wizard, he had never heard a more beautiful and yet heartwrenching sound. He had absolutley no idea what she was saying, but the her tones always seemed to get the point across. This was a song of loss and sorrow, it had no hint of ever being happy again. Within moments he found himself climbing the staircaise trying to keep as quiet as possible as he stopped at her door for a moment and listened to the rest of the song while he leaned on the stone wall, his eyes closed.

The guitar stopped playing and her song turned into a hum that he could barley hear, he could only assume she was grabbing another instrument; until the door opned. _Shit._ She walked out the door and he froze despratley wishing he was invisible as she turned to look at up him. After a moment of him staring down at her and trying to look nonchalant, he exhaled heavily and asked "How did you know I was here?"

"I was going to talk to my parents and get a drink actually."

"Oh." he mumbled, looking over her shoulder and back into her room in a desperate attempt not to make eye conact.

"You stood here and listened to me sing a ten minute ballad in gaelic, didn't you?" she said attempting to keep her face expressionless but her clear amusement seeped through the cracks of her metaphorical mask.

He scratched his neck and looked at the floor, "Maybe...Why didn't you just apparate downstairs."

"Why didn't you just apparate to your room?" She had him there.

"Thunderstorm tonight." He mused, as he despratley tried to change the subject.

"Yeah, right, you know, as much as I'd love to stand outside my room and awkwardly talk to you about the weather, I'm parched." Isabelle walked away from him and down the corridor that lead to the stairs.

Later on Draco found himself sitting in his bed writing and listening through the floor to her play and sing, he had cast a spell that made distant voices seem louder and concentrated it on hers, around nine o'clock he found himself drifting into a blissful sleep, the best he'd had in months despite the day's events.

Isabelle wasn't much of a sleeper these days, she often stayed up late in the night and played, it didn't help much that thunder and lightning raged outside across the sky. Isabelle wasn't one for situations she couldn't control, they scared her. It was around midnight when she decided to make an attempt at sleep. It took a while, but she finally drifted away with a troubled expression on her face as her dreaded nightmares returned.

It had only been an hour when she woke up, screaming bloody murder and thrashing in her blankets, of course Draco had forgotten to break off his spell so her screams echoed inside his head and before he could even think, he slipped on his discarded button up shirt grabbed his wand and sprinted to her room hearing her wimpering and hyperventalating all the way there. When he reached the door it was locked, and he rapped his wand on the doorhandle firecly as he whispered "Alohamora." He didn't give a damn if Isabelle didn't like him coming in her room, or being near her, or any of that bullshit, they were there for eachother when they needed eachother, and that was how it was going to be, how it always was.

She was sitting up In her bed wearing a white camisole, her hair shrouded around her face, hands around her legs and head on her knees. He stood there for a moment, taking in one of her very uncommon moments of humility. She didn't notice he was there until a soft bubble of light appeared over her nightstand. "Draco." she mumbled in a weak voice, "Go away, please."

"No."

"Please. I don't want you here."

"Why?"

"Because."

"That's not a reason and you know it."

"Do you really want to know why?"

"Of course I do. Do you think I enjoy that you hate my guts and push me away all the time? Isabelle for fucks sake look what's happening to us, we're sickly and weak from exhaustion we need to have eachother as a rock or we're screwed."

"You won't need me in a week anyways," she said, trying to throw the topic, "we'll go back to Hogwarts and you'll treat me like you did last year, either like property or like a henchman. You turn into someone ugly in that place. Someone I don't know."

"That's who I have to be when I'm there."

Isabelle shook her head and pulled all her hair to one side, "No it's not. Our parents are both of the same status, and I was kind to most people."

"Not many of them like you, I saw Finnigan's face when you waved at him. I noticed that crazy girl Lavender didn't talk to you."

"Do you think that they would be like that if I wasn't carted around the whole year by one of the most hated students there? Do you think they would have had the reaction to me they did if I didn't bear the Slytherin crest on all of my clothes."

"You were put into Slytherin for a reason."

"Because that's what I had to do." She grumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing. Go away theres no thunder anymore and I'm fine."

"You woke up screaming. You had a nightmare."

"No I didn't."

"Don't lie to me and pretend your strong, no one is as strong as you pretend to be."

"How did you hear me, the walls are stone and even I'm not that loud."

"First of all, you're the loudest person I've ever met im my life. Not to menition I was listening to you sing...Through an amplification spell," He said sheepishly, "and I fell asleep. Then you screamed and it woke me up, and you were crying so I came running." he looked at her bed "Can I sit with you?"

She looked up at him and sighed, not wanting to argue anymore, she moved herself aside and gestured for him to sit with her. "Go for it."

Isabelle rolled over, expecting him to just sit. Instead he laid himself down on her bed, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her over to him, her head fitted perfectly under his jaw as they lay there together. There had always been a closeness between her and Draco, something she wasnt surprised to see was clearly turning into some sort of romantic affection on his side. She wasn't so sure about hers, she didn't even want to think about romance at a time like this. She didn't have the energy.

"Have you been reading the paper hear anything about that teacher?" He mumbled softly in her ear.

Isabelle's face contorted, was Draco really this bad with women? "Uh, yeah? The one that taught everyone about Muggles? The one who quit?"

Draco squeezed her closer "Something like that."

"I'm not surprised." Isabelle said quetly. "Why're you bringing this up, to let me know so I can swap out of muggle studies?" She laughed a bit and when he didn't laugh back she rolled over to look at him, he was staring at her wild eyed and shocked.

"Isabelle!"

"What?!"

"How could you say a thing like that, she was murdered."

"So? People die now, I hate to say this, but I've gotten used to it and after that bit in the Daily Prophet she wrote she should have expected it to happen. I feel bad, but it was her own fault."

"You should have seen her..." his hands trembled around her.

"What do you mean, I should have seen her? I've been to Hogwarts."

"No." he shook his head, "She was hanging up side down over the table in my den, knocked out."

Her arms flew around him instinctivley and she held him as tight as she could, "They didn't make you..."

"No, god no... But I watched when they killed her. I saw her lifless body slam headfirst onto the table..."

"And then?" She mumbled into his neck, "What happned?"

"Honestly Iz? I fell backwards out of the chair onto my ass absolutley horrified." He paused and swallowed, looking out her window, "They want Bellatrix and my mother to kill Nymphadora Tonks. My cousin, my mother's sister's daughter, because she married a werewolf, in order to...How did he put it exactly, 'Prune away those parts of our family tree that threaten the rest.' I believe." he sighed, "I mean I don't like her, and I think she's a freak. But god that's harsh. To force family to kill family."

"Remus Lupin?" Isabelle mused. "Honestly I admire Nymphadora's mother, what was her name, Andromeda?" Draco gave her a weird look, he'd been trained to think Andromeda was a freak since he was young, so of course their feelings about her weren't the same, but isabelle continued her thought "She left this life and is fighting for what she truly believes to be right, dunno, makes me feel a little bit less insane. Like evil isn't heredetary and I don't have to go down this path if I don't want to."

Draco scoffed, "What, you're gonna pull an Andromeda on everyone and leave? Be disowned with nothing and no one to look after you, poor and pennyless on the streets?"

Isabelle looked at him rather annoyed, as if she hadn't thought this all out already. "Maybe I will. I can take care of myself. I've already considered selling some of my jewels and tavelling abroad then starting up a potions store somewhere. Not to mention the money I have that's in my private account at Gringotts. When this is all over, I just might leave. If I'm alive. "She paused and looked up at him, "If you're alive at the end of all this you can come with me wherever I go if you wish, but you don't have to, and I'm not asking you to choose. We'll always be friends at least, no matter what life I choose."

"My parents would kill me."

Isabelle shook her head, "Your mother loves you."

"My father?"

"I honestly havn't got him figured out yet, I think he likes to throw his weight around because you know who has him wrapped around his finger and it makes him feel bigger than he really is, but other than that. I don't know much about your father."

"Either way," he mumbled softly as he ran his hand through her hair, "He's a good man."

Isabelle nodded in response but said nothing more on the topic of Lucious Malfoy, the truth was she really didn't like him at all. "You mother wouldn't ever let your father hurt you, even if he tried to disown you she'd help you in secret. She'd double cross the Dark lord just to save your skin."

Mmm, he grumbled, "Back on the topic of why you hate me, Isabelle?"

"Shit." she said as she laughed, "Still sharp as a fucking needle, eh Draco?"

"I try."

"You helped kill your headmaster. You lead Death Eaters into a school to kill people. The Draco I know would never have done those things, in my eyes for a while you were lost, but I've realized now that you're just teetering on the fence, swaying from side to side. I'm more afraid than I am hateful, I don't want to lose you."

"Isabelle. Your parents are Death Eaters. They murder innocent people, kill mudbloods for sport, take delight in torturing anyone who disagree's with them. How can you hate me for that and not them."

"Because they see it as the right thing to do, and you don't."

"That's it? That's a pretty pathetic reason"

"No it's not.. I don't fully agree with what they do to people, actually it scares me beyond words. But they're already so disgustingly warped beyond saving that I stopped caring a long time ago and just learned to live with them, they're good to you and me, in a sense. I mean I can only assume your seeking solace here was our parents idea, because god, look at you." she gestured to his frail body and continued, "But you... You used to be sweet and kind, you used to intentionally get hurt and stay that way for my attention-"

Blush bloomed on his face, "How did you know?"

She smiled "You think I didn't notice? I may have been young but I wasn't naïve, anyways, you've always been good at heart and that's how I've always known you. Now you're turning sour and I can't handle it, I'd rather give you up entirely and make you hate my guts than sit idly by and helplessly and watch you turn yourself to shit."

"That's what all those nightmares are about, isn't it?"

"What?"

"You trying to save me from turning rotten."

She paused, and thought of the content of her nightmares, "Something along those lines, yeah."

"I thought they were about something different. You're less selfish than I thought."

"What did you think they were about."

"It's not important."

Isabelle propped herself up by her elbow and looked at him, "I told you something, you tell me."

"I thought you were having dreams that you were in trouble and you needed me, okay? I was up here for about half an hour listening to your sleep talking, and that was the impression I got. I had no idea you were trying to save me." He looked into her eyes, the light was casting a lovely gold hue on her beautiful face, "Just out of curiosity, did you.. You know, save me?"

He watched her as she looked away and her eyes filled with tears and and color appeared on her chest as well as her cheeks, "No." she managed to choke out hoarsely before letting her head drop back onto her pillow. "I didn't save you, and I'm worried I can't."

He smiled slightly and sat up, as he did Isabelle noticed something crinkling in his pocket. "What's that, in your pocket?"

"What?!" he asked a bit alarmed, when he looked down to note that is was just the paper he had been writing on earlier that day. He stopped to looked at her and they laughed, they knew what he had been thinking. Curse awkward teenage moments. "That," he said as he tried to stop laughing, "is just something I was writing earlier."

"What is it?" Isabelle squeaked, she always loved everything he put on paper.

"Nothing."

"Lemme see!"

"No!"

She drew her wand and pointed it at him, he did the same as they made stupid faces at each other in an attempt to look serious. "C'mon let me see!" she cried.

"Izzz." He groaned and grabbed it out of his pocket before rolling over.

She leapt ontop of him and dove for his hands, "Give it!" She shouted as she laughed, he easily flipped her off and held her down.

"It's irrelevant!" he said laughing a little bit,

"If it's so irrelevant why not show me?" Again, she had him there.

"I wrote a poerm, or a song really, that doesn't matter after what you told me."

"Aww! You wrote a song? You havn't in years."

"It's not very good, I wrote it while I was waiting for you to wake up yesterday morning, and finished it tonight, but It doesn't make sense now."

"Show me! We never keep anything from eachother."

"I don't want to." he grumbled and touched the paper with his wand quickly, lighting it on fire.

"You're no fun."

"I know. I'm a boring old stiff.

She smiled and rolled back over, so she wasn't facing him, but she let him stay beside her. The pair of them sat for a while watching the storm out of her bedroom windows while he tried to comfort her whenever the thunder was loud, which seemed to be happening more and more frequently. The whole while Draco was thinking she must be masochistic or something, just sitting here listening to one of the things that she fears most, watching it get closer. He could feel the fluttering of her heart get harder and faster every time it came close. With all the things witches and wizards could do, like block out sound or momentarily deafen themselves, or even just black out a window she sat there and watched it all happening around her, either she was too proud to succumb to fear or she was just brave enough to face it. He admired her.

But even the bravest people can feel enough fear to make them shirk away.

A massive flash of lightning appeared feet away from her bedroom window, and immediatley after, thunder rocked the house. It sounded like massive dragons which were made of rocks wrestling in a circle around the manor as the smell of singed earth penetrated through the closed window. Isabelle screamed, a horrible sound if you're right next to her. She could produce such an incredible volume no doubt a byproduct of learning to play her bagpipes. He clapped his hands over her ears, sparing her from the sound as he curled himself around her.

Draco Malfoy didn't have a particularly pretty voice, but it wasn't bad, just amazingly average. It was exactly ike the majority of seventeen year old boy's voices; a little groggy and scratchy, not to mention they sounded like they were trying a bit too hard. But they always seemed to be so sweet, gentle and full of love at the same time. Removing one of his hands from her ear, he softly began to sing to her the first thing that had popped into his mind. The song he himself had written only hours earlier;

When she sleeps  
There is a fever dream  
It brings a night terror  
To harm this fragile bird

She speaks in tongues  
Her words they come undone  
And with a wayward mind  
she struggles through the night

All that I can do  
Is hope she makes it through  
Through the night

These cold nightmares  
They make her worse for wear  
Lost in the dark  
She's got a heavy heart

And when she wakes  
In her fragile state  
Well, she calls my name  
Hoping that I keep her safe  
All that I can do  
Is hope she makes it through

through the night

When he was done, she smiled but had nothing to say. She just rolled over and put one of her arms over his side and held herself to him, the thunder was rolling away now, past her house getting quieter with every boom and crack. He still had her in her arms, whe she spent the rest of the night. Neither of them experienced another nightmare.

***** I don't own this song, it's by City and Colour, and it's called 'Fragile Bird.' I may be incorporating more songs into various chapters, I simply had to put this into this one, because I stumbled upon it while writing Isabelle's nightmares and I just thought it belonged here. *****

_**Still collecting for Gored Unicorn Hair Victim's Fund, please comment, every Galleon counts!**_


	5. Hogwarts Express

Chapter 5: THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS

The Morning they had to leave for Kings Cross finally came and was accompanied by a crushing sense of reality deadest on destroying all possibility of lightheartedness and fun. A packed trunk, an owl screeching bloody murder and an extremely ill rested Isabelle arrived ad platform 9 3/4 in the morning. She looked stunningly beautiful in an onyx colored dress, with deep green plaid pleated décolletage. The dress hugged her curves in a manner that made passers by stare as she walked by hardly glancing at them whilst her black leather pumps, which were adorned with small black bows on the heel clicked every time they hit the floor.

Isabelle was careful to keep the long black cloak out of her way as she tore towards the barrier entrance with Draco at her heels. The pair were so striking in their ensembles that hardly any of the muggles that noticed them though about the oddities in their luggage and attire and more so wondered which photo-shoot they had just left.

The platform carried the same air as Diagon Alley; it was cramped full of energy caused by fear, full of noise. Owls. Cats. Toads. Crying. And the goodbye's; lots of "Be Safe's" and "I love you's" and "Good Luck's". She pursed her lips. Everyone would certainly need good luck this year.

Draco resumed his usual nature as soon as they crossed the barrier, he was pushing and shoving children and adults alike out of his way to get to the train but when he did he let her on first then pulled both of their trunks on behind them. Personally she was surprised he didn't get someone else to do it.

Moments later they were sitting in the posh Slytherin carriage and Isabelle as usual wasn't very interested in what Blaise, Crabbe or Goyle had done over the summer and she was even less interested in whatever Pansy was butting in to talk about. She always flirted with Draco. The attempts were getting feebler and feebler every time Isabelle almost felt bad for her… Almost. She was awfully silly, a person would think after the first few times a person brushed you away you'd get the picture and move on to someone else and yet here she was again; desperately trying to impress him. It was a bit creepy, almost insane. She shook her head and made an attempt to devote her mind to her potions book.

Pansy drawled on about her summer and the things she did, how happy she was that the muggle studies professor had be 'sacked' and how her brilliant mind came up with the revolutionary idea that the Death Eaters had been behind it. _You think?_

Draco inhaled slightly at the memory when Pansy mentioned it and Isabelle, without taking her eyes off her book patted his hand gently and curled her fingers in his under the table. It was always the little things like this that gave her hope that he wasn't as heartless as he liked to let on. She wondered if she should stop counting the little things anymore, because look where that had gotten her last year. She untangled her fingers from his.

_Cut slugs before use = stronger potion._ She grimaced at her notes _Gross_. She thought and she wondered how she had stumbled upon that solution. Draco looked out the window, utterly bored with whatever his friends were now talking about. She was bored too. _Why can't we just use Floo Powder? It's much faster… Even if we just use it to get to Hogsmeade it cuts the trip by so much…_ She stretched her legs under the table and accidentally jammed her heel into Blaise's also outstretched leg. "Oh!" Sorry!" Isabelle cried as Draco smirked delightfully at his friend's pain. She looked at him and sighed. "I've got to get up and walk."

"Walk where?"

"Down the corridor, maybe find the sweets trolley and eat the lot."

She slid off of the plush black seat, grabbing her bag. Her cloak floated behind her as she walked and soon she found herself wandering down the corridor and peeking into every compartment to see if one was empty. They were mostly full of chattering students who either wouldn't give her the time of day or were just afraid of her and would turn away quickly. Some people were rude enough to flat out close the shutters when they saw her.

Slytherin's were practically social pariahs to people who didn't know them well. A person who was regarded as Draco's 'arm-candy informant' would be especially frowned upon. Not that anyone had anything to back up the idea that she would ever tell him anything. She had actually been quite anti-Draco by the end of last year, and the only thing she had against her at this point was her lineage. But unfortunately when you're a witch lineage can make or break you.

She was getting dangerously close to the first year's carriage and she had enough pride not to go sit with any of them. But at last, she saw an empty seat at a side angled through one of the compartment windows.

Relief washed over her as she reached for the door handle but when she looked up, she could now see a boy with blonde hair sitting along one of the bench-like chairs on the side opposite the door. "Screw it." She muttered. "I'll take my chances."

Isabelle peeked into the seemingly empty carriage and opened the door, she poked her head through the and looked inside only to see the boy she'd drug away from Borgin and Burke's a few weeks ago in Knockturn alley a week ago. "You!" she said devilishly as she looked at him with a cheeky grin on her pretty face.

The boy's eyes widened when he looked up at her, his back snapping straight as he raised his arm to point and look back with a surprised expression. "You!" He mimicked.

"Yes'ndeed, me." She smiled as she smoothed her dress and moved to sit down on the bench seat opposite him. Once sated, she clasped her hands together, and smiled at him awkwardly as her curls bounced merrily beside her face "Well! Glad to see you're still in one piece." The boy raised an eyebrow. He pushed his hair away from his eyes and ran his fingers, looking anywhere but her face and expectant eyes. He blinked and took a breath before he spoke, "Yeah, I'm alive. Though no thanks to my parents."

Deep purple circles shadowed his eyes; they were plain evidence of his lack of sleep. Isabelle wondered why, but decided now was not the best time to pry into his personal life. She smiled slightly as his expression became more guarded. "Gonna drag me off again? Can't go to Wizard's school? Is my trunk going to fall and kill me?" His mouth quirked into a smile as Isabelle's looked up at the trunk which had been stowed above him. When he looked at her again, her lips had shifted into another wry smile.

"Well no but that could be arranged. 'N wizard's school's a bad bloody decision for anyone this year. F'it was up t'me I'd haul the whole bloody train back to the platform." She halted her rant before it began, took a deep breath and held out one of her pale, dainty white hands " Sorry, I'm being rude, my name's Isabelle McTavish," the thickness of her accent began to dissolve as she continued, " And I'm firmly against attending Hogwarts School of Witchraft and Wizardry this year."

"Well, that's certainly an interesting greeting." He smirked at her and extended his arm to grasp her hand in a light handshake, "Gabriel Cooper, Home schooled and severely out of my element. And you're one scary witch Isabelle McTavish."

"I try my best, Gabriel, if I can call you that? I've never been one for calling people by their last names, it seems formal. It gives an air of less than friendship in my eyes."

"Yeah. No, I prefer Gabriel anyways actually." His eyes lingered over her for a moment before he spoke, "Damn if you aren't wearing more money then I've ever seen in my life."

She let out a quiet cackle, "I think it's genetically bred into me, 'tis the Slytherin way to flaunt one's wealth, or so I've been told." She gestured to her emerald and silver necklace, "You don't want to even begin t'understand how frivolous my family can be sometimes, although half of our possessions are heirlooms and gifts." She shrugged as she took note of his jeans and muggle band t shirt. "But I'm not like most people in my house. I won't shower scorn and prejudice upon you if you're not a pure blood or dripping in galleons."

"House?" He asked, "You mean your school house or your home house?" Her eyebrows rose slightly as she thought about it. She pursed her lips before she spoke. "Both actually. And I was home schooled too, till my parent's decided t'try to sell me some rubbish lie and say they were going on a 'world vacation'." She rolled her eyes. "Then I got shipped off to Hogwarts, thrown into Slytherin, much to my parent's pleasure may I add, and sure enough here I am again!" She gestured around the cramped carriage, her nose crinkled in disdain.

"Oh. My Parents have told me some pretty horrible stuff about Slytherin. And actually, I've yet to be sorted."

"Slytherin aren't all bad." She said rather sadly while looking out the window, "Salazar Slytherin looked for students with the potential for greatness… Greatness doesn't always mean good-ness though I s'pose. Too many unfortunate souls have been corrupted by the lust for power." She said, sighing as she turned her eyes on him to look him over "Well. From what I've seen of you I think you'll be a Gryffindor. It was awfully brave of you to try t'help Draco, but perhaps I'm wrong." She took a piece of her hair between her fingers to study it, as she continued to speak. "Maybe you'll just be a Hufflepuff or something."

"Just? Both of my parents were Hufflepuffs!"

"Hm." She continued to examine, "Well. That explains that; they didn't seem too particularly brave or intelligent," She looked up at him, "_certainly_ not cunning, when I met them "She paused and let her hair fall, "No matter how briefly."

"Well, that's pretty mean; however fairly accurate… They're especially not brave."

Isabelle mused "Mean? I s'pose. I'm not really one to get offended, so I don't recognize when something' I'm saying is offensive, unless I really want it to be. I have a tendency to think other people are the same." Her words trailed off at the end, as one could practically see her ears prick up at the sound of the sweets trolley rumbling by on it's commute through the train. 'Aaaaaaaaanything from the trolley!' yelled the witch in charge, and Isabelle's hand flew into her satchel at blurring speed and came out clenched around what must have been close to ten Galleons.

"You want anything Gabriel?" She asked as she counted her pile.

"Isabelle!" He cried, "That's a lot of money to spend on just sweets!" But she ignored him, as she was already in a conversation with the trolley witch and was rattling off a very long list of beloved treats. When she was done there was a large pile on the seat beside her.

The pair spent the next while eating sweets and talking about Hogwarts. Isabelle tried to fill him in about as many things as she could, and things he should probably look out for, like house rivalries and different teachers methods. They didn't get the chance to talk about their year schedules before Draco rapped on the window loudly with his knuckles.

They both jumped when they head the noise, expecting the worst. Death Eaters and Snatchers had been roaming the train; as if Harry Potter was stupid enough to go back to Hogwarts. The Dark Lord's lot had been leaving them alone for the most part. She unfortunately had to pull the 'rich and influential family card' for them to do so, but it was a low price to pay.

Isabelle put her hand on her chest when she realized who it was as she had been expecting much worse. Draco stepped into the compartment and shot a dirty look at Gabriel, who made an attempt to look indifferent as Draco loomed over both of them in his tailored black suit. "So this is where you've been all this time." He mused, "Stuffing yourself with sweets with this, this... Who and what are you?"

"Nobody." Isabelle interjected, "I just met him a while ago, he's new to Hogwarts Figured I'd fill him in on the Hogwarts do's and don'ts."

Gabriel sat back and watched, as Isabelle shot him a look that very plainly said _Don't speak. Let me do the talking._

"Blonde hair. Short. Looks pretty childish looking and he's new. Around our age... Is he the one that tried to save me from Borgin and Burkes?" Isabelle was silent.

"Maybe."

"The one your mother was making fun of at dinner?" He smirked.

She smiled awkwardly at Gabriel. "The very same, his name is Gabriel, I figured I'd apologize for attacking him and insulting him when we first met."

He scoffed "You don't have to apologize to anyone for anything. You're a McTavish. You're better than that."

"No, I know I don't have to Draco. But I wanted to. There's a difference." She shrugged as she heard someone approach them and Blaise swung into the already crowded compartment "Malfoy? We'll be arriving at Hogwarts soon. You and McTavish should really change into your robes."

Draco nodded and gestured at Isabelle to follow. "I'll just be a moment Draco, I have to gather up the rest of my purchases." She laughed a bit too lightheartedly,but Draco just walked away muttering curses about Hogwarts.

"Draco Malfoy?" Gabriel asked her.

"Yea.."

"Lucious and Narcissa's son?"

"Yes."

He stood up to get his bags down and get out his robes. "I've heard a lot of nasty stuff about that family." He paused." Any of it actually true?"

She sighed and looked at him, there wasn't much color left in her face aside from the blush on her cheeks. "Yeah. Too much." Isabelle smiled glumly as she walked back to the Slytherin carriage with her head held high

She spent the rest of the train ride – with the exception of changing into her school robes- in the Slytherin carriage sitting beside Draco and nodding patiently along with their conversation over the top of her book. She could hear Hagrid, the rather mad seeming groundskeeper calling for first years to get into the boats. She had very much admired his lightheartedness last year and he seemed to be maintaining his cheer as he called the children over and lead them into the boats.

Draco on the other hand was his usual rude, pushy self. He took hold of Isabelle's arm and hauled her out of the crowded train as he ordered his henchmen to get their bags for them. He continually had to pull her along as she caught sight off new and old faces, so many new children were heading to the boats. She thought she saw Gabriel and waved but he either didn't see her or was ignoring her.

Truth be told Isabelle didn't have very many friends at Hogwarts that she hadn't inherited from Draco. Other people seemed to shy away from her, unless they were forced to work or sit with her. That's how she had met Seamus; Professor Slughorn had her oversee his potion making. Mainly to make sure nothing else exploded. They had gotten on really well, and he had always been surprised at how kind she was to people. But she was a Slytherin and he was a Gryffindor, under the circumstances their friendship never would have worked.

She got the opportunity to impress people with her weirdly kind nature and zero tolerance for Draco's bollocks. That was the one that got people most; having someone around who call Malfoy out on his stupidity and pay no repercussions. To have someone who can call the overused "My father will hear about this." bluff and reply to it with something usually very spiteful and detrimental to his manhood. But she was afraid she was running out of fire. How much fight could one person put up before they burned out?

They had arrived at Hogwarts, and Draco was helping her out of the carriage. She could see the Thestrals, they were quite lovely looking in a sort of terrifying way. To her they looked like the offspring of bats crows and horses, but they were so gangly. Draco seemed afraid of them.

"First time seeing the Thestrals, Draco?"

He raised his brows. "You see them too?"

"Of course I do. They're actually quite lovely."

"Lovely?!" he scoffed "They're ugly brutish beats."

"You've never liked magical creatures. I remember that Hippogriff incident, what was its name? Buckbeak?" Draco shuddered and patted his arm.

"I swear it almost killed me."

"Oh don't be so melodramatic." They were walking now, into the school.

"I don't recall you being so calm about it."

"You told me you were going to _lose_ your wand arm. It was a bloody scratch!" She laughed slightly. "You've always been such a little girl when it came to pain."

He grimaced and clammed up. That wasn't an argument he wanted to get into, nor was it one he could see keeping quiet about.

People watched them as they walked together towards the great hall.


End file.
